A hypoarousal model of neurological post-COVID syndrome: the relation between mental fatigue, the level of central nervous activation and cognitive processing speed.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Knowledge on the nature of post-COVID neurological sequelae often manifesting as cognitive dysfunction and fatigue is still unsatisfactory.

Objectives

We assumed that cognitive dysfunction and fatigue in post-COVID syndrome are critically linked via hypoarousal of the brain. Thus, we assessed whether tonic alertness as a neurocognitive index of arousal is reduced in these patients and how this relates to the level of central nervous activation and subjective mental fatigue as further indices of arousal.

Methods

40 post-COVID patients with subjective cognitive dysfunction and 40 matched healthy controls underwent a whole-report paradigm of briefly presented letter arrays. Based on report performance and computational modelling according to the theory of visu

SUBMITTER: Martin EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10511382 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature